Many comments have been made on the creativity of persons with exceptional
ability and of highly original kind. It is not possible to conclude that
exceptional literary, musical or scientific work is the result of mental
disorder. There are however some important or famous personalities about whom
it is known or is presumed that they suffered with full or mild form of
bipolar disorder. In such cases there are of course during the severe
disturbances intermissions in their creative activities. Milder depression and
hypomania usually do resemble in their literary or other work. In some writers,
poets and dramatists, depression is thought to be the source of tragic or sad
themes. Hypomanias on the other hand the inspiration for comedies and joyful
plays.

Any
judgment in this field is to be made with extreme caution, in particular if
sufficient knowledge of circumstances is not known. Such informations are very
scarce especially with historical personalities. Great care is required
because it is a subject that for the general public carries a taste of
sensationalism. Many people do not look for the explanation of influences that
contribute to outstanding creative work. They are misusing such studies
looking with selfsatisfying smirk for anything to denigrate the life and work
of an outstanding personality. In this way they often bring injury to the
living and damage to the memory of the deceased.

There
has been a suggestion put forward[1] that Karl May might have suffered from
manic-depressive illness known today under the name of bipolar disorder. It is
difficult to see how anyone who had read and studied the books and life of
Karl May would be able to agree with this thought.

(1)
Bipolar disorder - cause, general course and common treatment.

Bipolar
disorder (manic-depressive illness) is a chronic disease that persists
throughout one's life. It is a mental illness involving episodes of serious
mania and depression. Bipolar disorder is extremely distressing and disruptive
not only for the patient, but also to people around him or her. It cannot be
cured but can be well controlled nowadays through the use of psychotherapy and
medication such as Lithium. Without treatment the symptoms will persist and
worsen, and ultimately hospitalization may be required. If untreated bipolar
affective disorder is associated with high suicide rate[2].
Eighty percent of
patients with bipolar disorder presented with major depression and only
developed a manic episode during their second or third episode of illness.[3]

The
diagnostic features of bipolar mood disorder are outlined in The Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, Fourth Edition (Washington DC,
1994), known as DSM-IV.

In order
to make a diagnosis of bipolar mood disorder the symptoms must "cause
clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or
other important areas of functioning"[4].
The symptoms must not be
"due to the physiological effects of drug abuse, a medication, other
treatment for depression, or toxin exposure. The episode must not be due to
the direct physiological effects of a general medical condition."[5]

Bipolar
I. is characterized as the occurrence of one or more manic episodes or
mixed episodes with duration of at least one week. Many such patients also
experience at least one major depressive episode. Ten to 15% of bipolar
affected people commit suicide or become violent during severe manic episodes.
Job failure, divorce, substance (alcohol) abuse and antisocial behaviour are
common. The most susceptible to this disorder are the first-degree biological
relatives of bipolar I affected people.

Bipolar
II. "The essential feature of bipolar II disorder is a clinical
course that is characterized by the occurrence of one or more major depressive
episodes accompanied by at least one hypomanic episode"[6].
The presence of
manic or mixed episodes would nullify the diagnosis of bipolar II. Those with
a first degree biological relative that is affected by bipolar II are at
heightened risk for developing bipolar I, bipolar II, and for experiencing
major depressive episode than the general population.

Cyclothymic
disorder - "The essential feature of Cyclothymic disorder is a
chronic, fluctuating mood disturbance involving numerous periods of hypomanic
episodes and numerous periods of depressive symptoms"[7]. First degree
biological relatives of those affected by cyclothymic disorder are at
increased risk of being affected than the general population.

Manic
episodes are characterized by "a distinct period of abnormally and
persistently elevated, expansive or irritable mood"[8].

Hypomanic
episode is characterized by a distinct period of "abnormally and
persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood that lasts at least four
days"[9].The criteria are essentially the same as that for a manic episode
except that delusions and hallucinations cannot occur. In addition, the
person's mood must be markedly different than their usual, nondepressed mood,
and there must be an uncharacteristic change in their level of functioning.

Mixed
episodes - people experiencing mixed episodes appear to meet the "criteria
for a manic and for a major depressive episode nearly every day"[10].

Major
depressive episode is defined as a "depressed mood or loss of
interest in nearly all activities"[11]. Duration must be at least two weeks.
Symptoms are inability to concentrate, difficulty in thinking and making
decisions, decreased energy, and recurrent thoughts of death, suicide ideation,
plans, or attempts.

What
causes bipolar disorder? Not much is known about the causes of this
disorder. A chemical imbalance (low or high level of specific
neurotransmitters such as serotonin, norepinephrine or dopamine) in the brain
(a link exists between neurotransmitters and mood disorder) is found in
bipolar affected people. It is known that first-degree biological relatives of
affected individuals are at heightened risk for bipolar disorder. However not
everyone with a predisposition to bipolar is affected. A severe life stressor
is needed to activate the disorder, such as physical, mental, environmental or
emotional causes.

Considering
the biological explanation, inheritability is to be addressed. This question
has been researched via multiple family, adoption and twin studies. In
families of persons with bipolar disorder, first-degree relatives, i.e.
parents, children, siblings, are more likely to have bipolar disorder[12][13][14].

Medication
in Bipolar Disorder.

The
Australian psychiatrist John Cade discovered the therapeutic effects of
Lithium carbonate against mania in 1949. In the early 1960' period
anti-depressant drugs were becoming available for general psychiatric use[15].

One
important factor has to be kept in mind. During the time of Karl May's life
there was no effective treatment available for bipolar disorder. Even today
the psychosocial outcomes are poor in many patients with bipolar disorder[16].
Latest findings challenged the view that bipolar disorder occurred in distinct
episodes with little residual deficit once patient recovered. It appears that
30 - 60% of individuals with this disorder failed to regain full functioning
in occupational and social domains. There was a significant level of
unemployment, poor social contact and impaired social adjustment between
episodes of acute illness. This would have been even more pronounced in Karl
May's lifetime when there was no efficient medication available.

(2)
Examples of people suffering from bipolar disorder.

Charles
Burgess Fry, the remarkable sportsman, was born in 1872, captained the
English cricket team, played soccer and rugby for England, broke world long
jump record which he held for 21 years and was a deputy delegate at the League
of Nations Assembly in 1919.

CB Fry
won the Greek prize as an undergraduate at Oxford, where he topped the list of
first class honours in classics. In 1919 he was offered the crown of Albania,
but because there was no salary, he declined. To do all this must have taken
not just talent, but a quite unusual hyperactivity.

The
first odd thing to surface was in 1895, the year after all his university
triumphs. Fry could only manage a fourth class in Literae Humaniores and
played cricket very poorly. It was said he was depressed due to his mother's
illness, but Fry was withdrawn and depressed for five years! He bounced back
in 1901 to score centuries in six consecutive cricket innings, a record never
surpassed, but equaled 38 years later.

Fry was
a great talker and bon vivant. He spoke with machine gun rapidity and
dominated any conversation. Fry was at ease discussing anything from iambic
pentameters to the niceties of long past cricket games. Then in 1929, aged 57,
came the crash. On a visit to India Fry became paranoid, believing the locals
were out to steal his possession. When brought home Fry was secretive,
withdrawn and would not let his belongings out of sight - apart from one
occasion when he was caught running naked down the beach. A full-time nurse
was employed and for about three years Fry neither met people, offered
opinions or discussed his feelings.

In 1933
he emerged and once more became the witty raconteur and racy commentator of
old. He resumed his job of running the merchant naval training ship Mercury.
The ship's discipline attracted the attention of the emerging Adolf Hitler,
and Fry was invited to advise on the organization of Germany's youth. Little
came out of it.

During
World War II Fry was appearing on BBC radio's discussion group The Brain
Trust. The chairperson had difficulty shutting him up. At age 70 Fry stated he
wanted to go in for horse racing and was asked: "What as - trainer,
jockey or horse?"

Fry is
regarded by many as the greatest sportsman England has produced. He showed all
the stigmata of a quite severe bipolar affective disorder.

Manic
Music Composers.

Handel
was notorious for his major moodswings, and is known to have written his
gigantic oratorio, The Messiah, in six weeks. Another composer, Rossini,
spun out The Barber of Seville, one of the major operas of the nineteenth
century, in thirteen days. Critics have computed it would be hardly enough
simply to copy the opus in that time span. Rossini's musical career peaked
with The Barber of Seville and he then went on to a dry spell that lasted some
fourteen years. During this time he produced nothing. When he began to compose
once again, the work was of inferior quality. The composer Robert Schumann
was manic-depressive, and his cycles of creativity are documented. He was
elated during the whole of 1840 and 1849 and these were the peak years of his
musical output. When Schumann was in deep depression, he stopped composing
altogether. In 1854, after his major creative phase, he tried to drown himself
in the Rhine, but was rescued, only to spend his remaining two years of life
in hospital.

(3)
Chart of Life - Literary Output and Events in Karl May's Life.[17]

The life
and work of Karl May have been documented elsewhere. Only events that might
have influenced May's mental state are noticed here. The record of May's
literary output year by year shows there was no period of deep pathological
depression in which he would not have been able to concentrate on writing.

Rather impressive
literary output. May lives in Dresden with Emma Pollmer. He finds time to make
enquires into the death of Emma's uncle ('Stollberg's affair'). The whole
official protocol that includes May's statements to the judge has been
preserved and published[18]. May travels on business in Germany. In
July May
quits the editorial post and moves back to Hohenstein.

May's mother died on
the 15 April. In May his father suffered a stroke. Karl May went through a
period of bereavement. He was able to continue writing by May. A major
depression cannot be substantiated[19].

The publisher Ernst Fehsenfeld visits May
with the suggestion to bring on the market his stories in book's editions.
Agreement concluded in November. The money advance by Fehsenfeld enables May
to pay outstanding debts. Because May was a chain smoker he suffered from
frequent upper respiratory tract infection, influenza or exacerbation of
bronchitis.

May's financial
situation has improved through cooperation with Fehsenfeld. May feels more
secure and wrote in a letter to a reader in December as part of public
relation exercise: "I am telling what really happened, and the people I
am talking about really did exist or are still alive today. F.e. I myself am
Old Shatterhand."

May suffers from
repeated bounds of bronchitis complicated with chest infection. Perhaps to
avoid the tense situation with Emma at home the pair travels in Germany. In
November May wrote to Carl Jung that he speaks 25 languages with some
additional dialects. May later (1904) elaborated on what he meant[20]. May was in
touch with his readers through letters mostly. His private life he kept to
himself.

Visit by Ferdinand
Pfefferkorn from the US who introduced them to spiritism, then in vogue in
America. The popularity of his books helped May financially. He bought in
November a house in Radebeul, which he named "Villa Shatterhand."

With the permanent
address of "Villa Shatterhand Radebeul" Karl May became a public
figure and could not any longer keep in touch with his readers by letters only.
To keep in line with the image he created, and to cater for the curious and
inquisitive public, Karl May bought the Silver gun and the Bear Killer gun
from a Dresden gunsmith. He kept them on display in his Villa for the visitors
to see. May also had 101 photos taken of himself in the costumes of Old
Shatterhand and Kara ben Nemsi. The photos were on sale to his readers.

However when on
holidays in August-September in Lorch am Rhein, staying with the family of
wine merchant Jung, Karl May never talked about his books. When asked directly
May - as Carl Jung junior reported later[21] - "…questions on details about
his travel experiences he as a rule sidestepped with a short dismissive answer,
so that I shortly found out that he did not wish to be very communicative in
such matters."

In this year Karl May
also wrote "The Joy and Suffering of a Popular Writer." This
excellent self-description enables a unique view into Karl May's mind[22].

Life became hectic
for Emma and Karl May. The popularity of his books reached a cult status. The
public at large identified Old Shatterhand with Karl May. More and more
readers wished to see Old Shatterhand in his Villa, just as nowadays admirers
of Elvis Presley flock to Graceland.

"Large crowds of
visitors" wrote Emma May in a letter from 16. October, "the bell
rings every three minutes, a servant girl has to stand at the gate all the
time." And later "We had again two American ladies visiting us;
since we came home, we had so far no peace." And again "Countess
Jankovics for a couple of days, then a visit from Berlin, Hamburg, Warsaw …
There were f.e. so many strange people here that in the evening we had,
counting the local acquaintances, 26 people at the table." "On the
three X-mass days we had altogether 43 people at the table."

May was his own
public relations and business manager. What he used to write in letters to his
readers May now was telling to his visitors. Dr. Fr. Amroth who visited May in
January mentioned how the discussion touched mainly what was in the books and
what the public wanted to hear from the author himself. The only way how to
escape the visitors was to go travelling. This however showed to be no
solution: "The word Karl May is here spread through the neighbourhood
like a lightning…" (6 June at Koenigswinter). Karl May was aware of his
role and of business obligations, when he did not want to be photographed at
Komotau (13 July), claiming that the publisher of his books has the exclusive
rights to his photos.

After return to
Radebeul in August Emma May wrote in a letter: "… for as long as we are
home, we had no peace." Karl May became "The darling of his readers"[23]. The pair May escaped to Birnai in Bohemia (26.10-17.11), where May finished
writing the "Weinacht" undisturbed.

The 'Prager Tagblatt'
reports in February when Karl May visits on business the publisher Vilimek in
Prague: "Dr.Carl May, the known globe trotter and writer, known to
readers under the names Old Shatterhand and Kara ben Nemsi…" Certainly
a good advertisement for May's books. Karl May was in good control of himself
when he declined the offer to try the famous organ at Emausy cloister in
Prague! [May also declined to meet with a visiting group of Arabs.] Later that
month May participated at a carnival in Vienna's casino in a discussion with
baron Vittinghoff-Schell, had a lecture on Winnetou, talked with the members
of the Austrian imperial family, some of whom were avid readers of his books,
met with members of his fan clubs.

1899:Am Jenseits
Die "Um ed
Dschamahl'

In March Karl May
departed Radebeul for his Orient trip. The often-quoted "psychotic states"
during his trip (in Padang and Istanbul) cannot be substantiated[24].

In January divorce
legally confirmed. In February Klara Plohn and Karl May marry. In March
follows church wedding at Radebeul. In November May's prison record released
by court causing a severe stress reaction to him.

1904:Und Friede auf
Erden
Weltall - Menschheit - Krieg

"The lively,
good natured stories of the famous, much appraised and maligned man and his
spirited, faithful lady companion in life, captivated listeners in high degree"
reported 'Donauwoerter Anzeigenblatt' on 27 October on a lecture May held at the
local school.

1905:Ein Schundverlag

An article "The
King of Swindlers" appears in June in a Dresden newspaper.

May's health
deteriorates; stay at Bad Salzbrunn in May-June. In November house search by
authorities in connection with court proceedings. In November the psychiatrist
Dr. Paul Nacke pays a visit to May in Radebeul.

1908:Meine Beichte
Abdahn Effendi

Klara and Karl May
visit Prague; Berlin in June. In September travel to America, where May
delivers a lecture in Lawrence on 18 October.

1912: On
22nd March
lecture in Vienna. Karl May dies at Radebeul on 30th March.

(4)
Could pathological depression or mania be documented in Karl May's life?

Most
people with bipolar disorder do have periods of depression at some time of
their lives. There is no evidence Karl May had suffered from Major
Depressive Episode that would be acceptable as a psychiatric diagnosis as
outlined in DSM-IV.

Looking
at the literary output year by year by Karl May there was one period in 1885
when he was not able to concentrate on writing. On 15 April 1885 May's mother
died. May was not able to deliver to the publisher the weekly contribution of
articles until the middle of June. He was going through the stage of
bereavement, a grief reaction[26].

The
paper (1) quotes as a proof of May's major depression a letter written by May
to Fehsenfeld in 1893: "my nervousness … because of domestic discord
… that I often look above my writing desk where a loaded revolver hangs".
However the year 1893 was a very successful year for Karl May. He was becoming
very popular because of the book edition of "Winnetou." The public
was conditioned to match Old Shatterhand with Karl May in the tradition
started by the "Deutscher Hausschatz" publicity buildup. This was a
year of May's achievement and greatly improved financial situation when he had
no reason to become depressed. But the relation between Emma and Karl was
quickly deteriorating[27]. It was a time of marital clashes with his wife Emma,
which were becoming more public. May also mentioned a revolver in a letter to
Professor Dr.Paul Schuman in 1904[28]. May used this as a figure of speech, an
act of dramatization, not as an expression of suicidal intention.

May's
clear description of his bodily pain in 1910[29] is interpreted in paper (1) as
part of his life lasting cycles of depression. In fact the pain was of organic
origin[30]. The statement from (1): "Sleep disturbances, which May in his
old age interpreted as a symptom of his depressive ill-feeling, were
permanently present in his creative and also hypomanic phases …"[31]
incorrectly assumes mental illness. It was bodily pain that made May feel
miserable in his last years. Many people study, concentrate and write better
at night. This is simply a working habit and not a mental disease. Connecting
old age and depression as part of May's long lasting bipolar disorder is
incorrect. The author of (1) did not take into consideration organic causes
for depression including for example dementia, Huntington's chorea, temporal
lobe epilepsy and Parkinson's disease. An organic cause should in particular
be considered when the mood disorder is presenting in an elderly person[32]. In
such way the author of (1) missed the cause of the chronic pain May suffered
from.

The
unsubstantiated psychotic condition Karl May was supposedly having during his
Orient journey in Padang and Constantinopol, is presented in (1) as evidence
of May's bipolar disorder. Firstly the concept of 'psychosis' in itself is not
diagnostic. Secondly the story of May's psychotic breakdown has not been
confirmed[33]. Another statement from (1) that May "was searching for an
explanation of his cyclic mood swings that he did not understand"[34] is
wrong. Clear description of manic-depressive states was part of all
psychiatric textbooks during May's lifetime.

In Meine Beichte May wrote he suffered from 'Depression' during his
ordeal in 1860s. The traumatic amnesia and hallucinations May described as
experiencing himself at that time however speak against major depressive state.
Other typical symptoms of major depression as 'changes in appetite and weight'
described by May during his Orient voyage were in connection with his
dysentery. 'Changes in sleep and psychomotor activity' - the sleep pattern of
working during the night and sleeping longer into the day was May's long life
working habit. There was no prolonged period of 'decreased energy or
inactivity' if we inspect the list of May's yearly literary output. Nothing
corresponds with the pattern of people with bipolar disorder who become
incapacitated sometimes for years. This applies also to 'difficulty in
thinking, concentrating or making decisions', and also for pathological 'feelings
of worthlessness or guilt.' The quoted poem in (1) by Karl May "I am so
tired…" written during the Orient voyage was just that, an expression
of loneliness, sad mood, and not a sign of deep incapacitating depressive
state.

It seems that the
main argument in (1) for Karl May's bipolar disorder is May appearing in
public in the years 1893-1900 and after. This is classified as 'hypomanic-manic
episodes'[35]. From the description given May supposedly suffered for whole of
his life from 'long-lasting hypomania'[36], even well into his old age[37]. That
condition, it is claimed in (1), was faintly but distinctly overlaid with
episodes of depression[38].

Such version given in
(1) of Karl May's mental state would be more accurately described by a
psychiatrist as Cyclothymic Disorder: 'The essential feature of Cyclothymic
Disorder is a chronic, fluctuating mood disturbance involving numerous periods
of Hypomanic Episodes and numerous periods of depressive symptoms'[39]. However
the diagnosis offered in (1) is Hypomanic and Manic Episodes, characterized by
a distinct periods of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or
irritable mood that lasts at least four days[40][41], and are interfering with daily
life.

There are certain
observations of Karl May's conduct which speak against the classic symptoms of
untreated mania:

There are no
reports of manic behaviour as known from descriptions of untreated
patients, when they become violent even suicidal and have to be restrained
or hospitalized. The often quoted "psychosis" during Karl May's
Oriental journey showed to be unsubstantiated. There are no documented
periods of time during which Karl May would not have been able to work or
function in the society because of severe depression, hypomanic or manic
states.

No verbal garbage
was ever recorded as it happens in acute mania, where there is a typical
flight of ideas in which connection between one idea and the next is based
on chance association including similar sounds (the clang association)[42].
In all preserved reports of Karl May's public appearances his speech was
coherent, even if multiloquacious.

It was the
"Deutscher Hausschatz" which started the build-up of Karl May's
public image, the 'Karl May legend', when the editor published the
following: "The author of the adventure travel stories visited
himself all the countries which are the scenes of his stories. He returned
recently from a journey to Russia, Bulgaria, Constaninopel, etc., and even
suffered a knife wound as a souvenir. He however does not enjoy to travel
with the red Baedecker [travel guidebook] in hand and via railway
compartment, but he seeks the less known routes"[43].

May continued later
on in this tradition. Claus Roxin in his study "Dr.Karl May called Old
Shatterhand"[44] put forward four possible reasons for May's behaviour after
1890: (a) May played the role of Old Shatterhand to conceal his past. (b) May
was more or less forced into the role of Old Shatterhand by his readers. (c)
It was on the part of Karl May a business self-promotion. (d) May's conduct
was an expression of narcissistic neurosis. Lately (1) put forward a thesis of
bipolar disorder as the cause of May's performance.

The (b) and (c)
reasons seem to explain Karl May's conduct, as the diagnosis of hypomanic or
manic psychiatric disturbance is not tenable.

The
question of hereditary trait in Karl May's ancestors.

The (1) mentions also
the possibility of family history as a contributing factor to May's bipolar
disorder. May's grandfather on mother's side, one Christian Friedrich Weise,
was found hanged in 1832. The cause of his death according to the official
entry into records was "drunkenness and despair."[45] In the absence of
sufficient information about Ch.F.Weiss and the circumstances of his death, it
is hardly justified to connect him with a psychiatric diagnosis.[46]

It is known that the
first-degree relatives are more likely to have a genetic predisposition to
bipolar disorder. Even if May's father was known for his bad temper, he was
not manic-depressive, never had been hospitalized or under psychiatric care.

In order to prove
that genetic factors play a part it must be shown that near relatives of the
mentally ill are more often also mentally ill than are the members of the
general population, and that this cannot be explained by common environment.
Both twin studies and the family studies, however, indicate that there really
is often a genetic predisposition and that on the whole this predisposition is
specific. One type of mental illness only tends to occur within one particular
family[47]. In family studies it was found that the proportion of first degree
relatives of manic-depressive patients who are also affected with
manic-depressive insanity is of much the same order, though a little less than
the proportion of like-sex fraternal twins. Stenstedt carried out one of the
best studies[48] in Sweden. He took as his starting point all instances of
manic-depressive psychosis from two areas of Sweden from 1919 to 1948.
Stenstedt found that of the brothers and sisters 7 per cent were certainly
affected and another 7 per cent possibly affected. For parents the proportions
were 5 per cent and 7.5 per cent, for children 11 per cent and 17 per cent.
The actual manifestation of the illness varied in different members of the
same family. The family study suggested that patients with many attacks and
patients with few attacks, patients with mainly manic symptoms and patients
with mainly depressive symptoms, patients with an early onset and those with a
late onset of the illness, all had varieties of essentially the same disorder,
since all these varieties might occur within a single family.

To confirm the
alleged manic-depressive illness in Karl May more studies of his family
members would have to be done. If one examines the incidence of
manic-depressive illness in the relatives, it is higher than in the general
population. The incidence falls away dramatically as the degree of
relationship, and the genetic resemblance, becomes more remote[49]. The first
generation of offspring's is at risk; the second generation carries less
'dominant' traits[50]. These facts have been recognized today and are included
into the DSM-IV, where the first-degree biological relatives are named as
being at heightened risk for developing Bipolar I, Bipolar II, and for
experiencing Major Depressive Episode more than the general population.
Studies on close relations, identical twins and adopted children whose natural
parents have bipolar disorder strongly suggest that the illness is genetically
transmitted, and that children of parents with bipolar mood disorder have a
greater risk of developing the disorder.

What the paper (1)
puts forward as support for May's bipolar disorder[51] is insufficient to support
the thesis. It certainly does not confirm the first-degree biological
relatives known facts. More research into May's family tree with particular
attention to the incidents of mental abnormalities would be required before
the expressed view in (1) could get any credit at all.

The author of (1)
named his essay "Author in Fabula - Karl Mays Psychopathologie…".
Why the presumption of mental abnormality? Is it because it simply follows in
the German tradition of maligning one of their most successful and popular
writers? The blindness of May as a child is declared an "ophthalmologic
impossibility"[52], even if this is not correct and cannot be substantiated.
From such a false premise the author concurs with the view that Karl May was a
psychopath, a pathological liar[53]. On the basis of May's critics he is
described as having a "bizarre personality structure"[54]. Again the
negative damaging assessment of Karl May, based on what his critics and
enemies said one hundred years ago. Karl May himself answered his critics[55] but
his words are not mentioned in the essay.

Karl May correctly
assessed his reaction to the trauma he suffered in his early manhood, as
requiring medical attention and not prisons terms. This has been overlooked
again. Almost all authors - including the (1) - did not pay attention to what
May said himself, believing he was a liar, but tried to present May as a
neurotic, narcissistic personality, psycho-neurotic, and finally even mentally
imbalanced manic-depressive. Always the negative about Karl May, all the time
an insistence that May was abnormal in some way.

The author of (1)
does not see the period 1862-1874 in May's life as the time of stress and
May's reaction to it. He calls it a period of "criminality and hoboeism
of May as an expression of personality disorder"[56].He considers it not
to represent a reaction to life events, but to be an expression of May's
deviation of normal cognition[57], turning Karl May into a morally insane
personality. The author of (1) also claims May was "lying as a rule in
all the time new varieties"[58]. This should have been happening from May's
youth to his old age. To demonstrate May's bad character the author of (1)
creates a non-existent love affair with a married woman[59] to stress the moral
insanity of a nineteen years old May.

Marital conflicts are
the most difficult situations to deal with. What is not mentioned in (1) in
connection with May's "Frau Pollmer, eine psychologische Studie…"
is the fact that Emma Pollmer suffered from mental illness[60] and had to be
hospitalized because of it later in life. Klara May's diary describes Emma's
behaviour in some detail which is quite informative.

Episodes from the
life of Karl May are presented in (1) as psychiatric symptoms, f.e.
discussions with the readers of his books which were distorted and incorrectly
reported, as May points out in his letter to a newspaper in Dresden[61]. Giving
tips to waiters and domestics is presented as sign of megalomania - when
charity by Karl May is not mentioned at all[62]. Sending postcards from May's
Oriental journey is classified in (1) as manic behaviour, when in fact it was
a sound promotional public relation exercise.

In such way a
psychiatric diagnosis was artificially created. There were no major
incapacitating depressive episodes or significant hypomanic or manic
impairments in important areas of functioning documented in Karl May's life. A
diagnosis of bipolar disorder as outlined in DSM-IV cannot be sustained. Karl
May was a successful creative writer and his own business and public relations
manager. He was an artist, not a certifiable mental case.

In
this dignified old house of Porath family took rest in April 1898 the famous German writer Dr.Karl May from Radebeul. During his stay he helped a child of poor parents in their bitter need by filling up a basket with food at his own expense, and also gave the father of the child, who rushed in, some gold coins. We wish to honour herewith this spontaneous deed of human charity, as an example to
others.
The Shire of Kapern,
February 1997

Photo:
Hartmut Kühne

ReferencesPlease click on the hyperlinked
reference numbers to return to your place in the text.

[13]The Old Order Amish of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, US,
has been used to study a form of manic-depressive disorder and linkage
related to genes: Egeland, J.A. et alii: 'Bipolar affective disorder
linked to DNA markers on chromosome 11'. Nature 325:783-787,1987. Also:
Gelemter, J.: 'Genetics of bipolar affective disorder - time for another
reinvention?' (Editorial) Am.J.Hum.Genet.56: 1262-1266,1995.

[42]If for example a
patient from Kingstown is asked "Where do you live?" the answer
comes as: "King, King staying, see the King he's standing, king, king,
sing, sing, bird on the wing, wing on the bird, bird, bird, not heard,
turd…" etc.

[46]It is almost impossible to state a diagnosis in similar
cases: Clothes and rag dealer Dorothy Handland was "in a fit of
befuddled despair" when, at the age of 84, she hanged herself from a
eucalyptus tree in Sydney Cove (Australia) in 1789. Two years earlier she
had left England on the First Fleet after being sentenced to seven years'
transportation for perjury. Dorothy not only earned a dubious honour in
Australian history by being the oldest female convict on the First Fleet,
but also by being the first person to commit suicide in the new colony of
New South Wales. Although no medical records are available, modern
commentators have speculated that she may have been depressed and possibly
had dementia. Perhaps she had a serious physical illness that could not be
adequately treated, and consequently made life unbearable in the rough and
poorly resourced new settlement. (Hughes, R.: "The Fatal Shore."
Pan Books 1988, p.73.)